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Question about missing fur, excessive licking & about ears?

Hi everyone!

I have 3 questions:

1.)Has anyone has ever had a problem with there dogs missing fur on the hind legs? I'm not sure if its from him chewing at it or "scooting" it off. Its a patch missing on the back of his thigh from near the base of his tail almost down to his hock. Its worse on one side then the other. When he went into the vet a while back they did a skin scraping to check for mites and didn't find anything. It improved for a while and now is back again. Its not flaky or scabby. Just the fur is gone. I see him scoot his butt across the floor from time to time but not very often. I have heard Vitamin E oil put on it might help. He gets a very high quality food as well as Omega 3 supplements. The rest of his coat is amazingly healthy, soft and silky. Is there anything else I can do to help the fur grow back? He looks a little silly with a balding butt

2.) My pup (5 months old) licks a LOT! He will sit and lick his feet for a VERY long time. When I try to stop him he will lick my hand or arm. Its not his "I'm so happy licking"...Its what I would call excessive. He will lick the same spot over and over and over and over. Its mainly his front paws on top of his knuckles. Just wondering if that is just a puppy thing that he will out grow?

3.) How do you help prevent ear problems? I live in Texas and the humidity is pretty bad here at times so I don't know if that can make it worse. One of his ears seems to be starting to bother him a little. I see a little bit of gunk in that ear and none in the other ear. I cleaned it out but I can tell it is a little sensitive and possibly bothering him just a tad. Going to keep an eye on it before calling the vet. Just wondering what I can do to help "prevent" problems from occurring?

On the first issue -- def get him to a vet. This could very possibly be mange -- this is the class appearance of it -- and would be important to treat asap (not least as all your other pets could get it and sometimes, humans too). It might also be connected to the foot licking. The foot licking could also be allergies. It has been associated too with pain and sometimes with SM. But this would be unlikely in a dog so young. Some cavaliers are prone to obsessive compulsive behaviours like licking so again. it would be a good idea to see your vet for advice.

On ears -- your vet can supply a product to just clean ears weekly. This can be done gently with a cotton ball but this should never be forced deeply into the ear -- your vet can show you how to clean correctly.

To be honest I have never had problems with ears, with 5 cavaliers, over 7 years... but some are definitely more prone to ear problems. Keep unnecessary water out of their ears (eg put cotton balls in the ear while bathing). Trimming the hair away from the underflap of the ear and the area around the ear opening helps keep it aired (use only proper small blunt dog scissors or the vets or groomers can shave the inside of the ear flap in this area).

If you are going to the vet, and haven't done so before, ask him/her to check your puppy's anal glands - scooting is a classic indication that they need emptying, and if they are a bit uncomfortable he may be chewing at the surrounding fur. Mange, allergies, anal glands - plenty of possibilities!!